Latest news with #KenniBisson
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Tornado kills three in upstate NY, including 6-year-old twin sisters
Three people were killed early Sunday morning when a tornado touched down in Oneida County, according to the National Weather Service in Binghamton. The Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down in Clark Mills at 3:58 a.m. Sunday and traveled southwest for 2.43 miles. The twister reached an estimated peak wind of 105 mph and maximum width of 300 yards, according to the Weather Service. The twister was on the ground for approximately five minutes. The deadly pre-dawn tornado uprooted numerous trees and snapped many branches on others. All three people who were killed - including two children - were crushed when trees landed on their respective homes, which were heavily damaged by the tornado. Clark Mills is a hamlet of roughly 1,600 people located within the Town of Kirkland, Oneida County. A historic grist mill on Oriskany Creek was also destroyed by the twister, according to the Weather Service. Two of the people killed were 6-year-old twins - sisters Emily and Kenni Bisson - who died after a tree fell onto their house in Clark Mills, which caused the roof to collapse, according to reports. Both girls were students at Clinton Elementary School within the Clinton Central School District. District officials confirmed the girls' deaths. "Our hearts are with all of the families and loved ones affected by this tragedy," Clinton schools superintendent Christopher Clancy said in a message to district families and employees. He said classes were canceled Monday but grief counselors would be available when classes resume on Tuesday. A relative launched an online fundraiser to support the girls' mother Kayleigh Bisson. A single mother, Bisson survived the tornado but lost her daughters, home and possessions due to the damage caused by the twister. More than $170,000 was donated in less than 24 hours. "These girls were known throughout town," the GoFundMe read. "They were a part of softball, soccer, dance, gymnastics and so much more. They always kept everyone smiling and made people remember what life was all about. They walked through life smiling, dancing, and belly laughs that lasted for days." According to a 50-year-old Shelley Johnson died in a separate home in Clark Mills when a tree crashed through the roof of her house. Her house was not far from the residence where the Bisson family lived. This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Tornado kills three in upstate NY, including twin sisters
New York Times
18 hours ago
- Climate
- New York Times
3 Dead in Central New York After Powerful Storm Lashes the Area
Three people, including two children, in Central New York died on Sunday after severe storms lashed the region with heavy rains and powerful winds that washed out roadways, toppled trees and damaged homes, the authorities said. The deaths were the result of two separate cases of falling trees in the Town of Kirkland in Oneida County, according to its sheriff, Robert M. Maciol. Deputies responded to a report of a tree that had fallen on a home in the town, which is about 15 miles south of Rome, N.Y. Inside the house, investigators found a woman, Shelly Johnson, 50, who was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff said in a statement. The authorities were called to another tree that had fallen on a home that was occupied by a woman and her two children. 'It was reported by the caller that the roof collapsed onto her, causing her to become temporarily entrapped and she was unable to locate her two daughters,' the statement said. Investigators found the daughters, Emily Bisson and Kenni Bisson, both 6 years old, inside the home. They were pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff said. He attributed all three deaths to the severe storm. Bryan Greenblatt, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Binghamton, N.Y., said that wind gusts of 58 miles per hour were reported in the wee hours of Sunday at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, and of 62 m.p.h. in the Town of Westmoreland, also in Oneida County. The storm brought as much as 3.35 inches of rain to parts of Oneida County and 3.4 inches of rain to parts of Chenango County to the south, according to the Weather Service. The rainfall was so intense that, for more than six hours, Chenango County was under a flash flood emergency, a rare alert for extremely dangerous, life-threatening conditions. Fire departments in Chenango County responded to water rescue calls throughout the central portion of the county, its Office of Emergency Services said on Facebook. Chenango County remained under a state of emergency as of 3 p.m. on Sunday, the office said. The heavy rains extensively damaged roads and bridges throughout the county, and drivers may encounter washouts or debris on the roads, the office said. In Oneida County, more than 30,000 customers were left without power in the aftermath of the storm, County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. said in a statement. 'We are doing everything we can to respond quickly and safely to the damage left by these storms,' he said.
